Lina's Lunar New Year sambousek

A twist on my favourite Middle Eastern savoury snack - the sambousek - by filling it with my favourite Asian flavours.

• makes

  20-30

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

Sambousek dough

• 4 cups plain flour
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp ghee, melted
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 cup water

Filling

• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ tsp ginger, minced
• 3 shittake mushrooms, diced
• 400 g chicken mince
• ¼ cup grated carrot
• 10 water chestnuts, diced
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp cornflour (dissolved in 2 tbsp water)
• 1 tbsp crushed peanuts
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Resting time: 30 minutes

Instructions

1. Prepare the sambousek dough by adding plain flour, cornflour, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Create a well in the middle and add the ghee and milk. Using a fork, slowly start to bring the dry and wet ingredients together. Slowly add the water and using your hands knead and bring the ingredients together to create a smooth dough ball. This is better done by hand because you don’t want to over knead this dough. Cover and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.
2. In the meantime, heat the oil in a large fry on medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and fry off for a minute or two.
3. Add the diced mushroom and cook until it begins to soften.
4. Add the chicken mince and cook until mince turns opaque, frequently stirring and breaking it apart with a cooking utensil.
5. Stir through the carrot, water chestnuts, oyster sauce, soy sauce and dissolved cornflour for 2 3 minutes. Mixture will start to thicken.
6. Stir through the crushed peanuts and sesame oil. Set filling aside to cool.
7. Portion the sambousek dough into 4 parts. Roll out one at a time and cut out circles to preferred size.
8. Place about 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle of each circle and fold dough over to create a semi-circle. Press to make sure edges are sealed. You can do this by hand by folding over and pinching edge to seal or with a dumpling mould.
9. Deep fry sambousek in small batches at about 180°C for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Serve immediately with hoisin sauce for dipping.

Note•You can substitute ghee for unsalted butter. Omit the peanuts and use olive oil instead of peanut oil for a nut free version.

Celebrate Lunar New Year with SBS

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.